Florida State College at Jacksonville is a member of the Florida College System and is not affiliated with any other public or private university or college in Florida or elsewhere. Florida State College is a division of Florida State College at Jacksonville.

Florida State College at Jacksonville is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award the baccalaureate and associate degree. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097, or call (404) 679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Florida State College at Jacksonville. The Commission is to be contacted only if there is evidence that appears to support an institution’s significant non-compliance with a requirement or standard.

Procedures for Handling Alleged Academic Dishonesty

Academic dishonesty, in any form, is expressly prohibited by the rules of the District Board of Trustees of Florida State College at Jacksonville.

As used herein, academic dishonesty incorporates the following.

Cheating, which is defined as the giving or taking of any information or material with the intent of wrongfully aiding one’s self or another in academic work considered in the determination of course grade or the outcome of a standardized test.

Plagiarism, which is defined as the act of stealing or passing off as one’s own work the words, ideas or conclusions of another as if the work submitted were the product of one’s own thinking rather than an idea or product derived from another source.

Any other form of inappropriate behavior which may include but is not limited to: falsifying records or data, lying, unauthorized copying, tampering, abusing or otherwise unethically using computer or other stored information, and any other act or misconduct which may reasonably be deemed to be a part of this heading.

Any student alleged to have committed any act of academic dishonesty as defined herein shall be entitled to due process as defined in District Board of Trustees’ Rule 6Hx7–2.18 prior to the administration of disciplinary action including suspension and dismissal.

Classroom Assessment

A faculty member who has a concern regarding a student’s conduct in the area of academic dishonesty may elect to meet with the student directly.

Once the student is notified, it is advised that the student resolve the matter with the faculty member. However, at any time the student may request a hearing with the campus dean of student success.

Following the discussion with the student, the faculty member may take one or more of the following action(s).

Verbally warn the student that continuation or repetition of misconduct of this nature may be cause for further disciplinary action.

Require the student to retake the test or rewrite the assignment.

Require the student to withdraw from the course.

Fail the student for the assignment.

Fail the student for the course.

Refer the student(s) to the campus dean of student success for possible suspension or dismissal.

For cases in which the student is referred to the campus dean of student success for action, the dean will appropriately involve the faculty member and inform the faculty member of the disposition of the matter.

Each faculty member shall communicate the College’s policy on academic dishonesty to each class section with which that faculty member is involved.

This subject is to be considered an integral part of the faculty member’s course syllabus.

It is the responsibility of the assistant deans and associate vice president of instruction to routinely inform the faculty of this requirement.

Standardized Assessment

Any student alleged to have committed any act of dishonesty on standardized tests administered through the College is subject to disciplinary action. These assessments include all standardized tests administered through the College assessment offices in both college credit and non–credit programs.

Any test examiner or proctor who has a concern in this area shall report this to the campus assessment and certification center manager without providing the student with the test score. Any evidence, description or witness shall be presented for further investigation. The assessment manager will present the situation to a campus dean of student success for his/her review. The campus dean of student success will notify the student via the student notice form to review the situation.

The campus dean of student success may take one or more of the following actions.

Verbally warn the student that continuation or repetition of misconduct of this nature may be cause for disciplinary action.

Require the student to retake the test.

Record failure for that portion of the test and/or not give credit for the course (e.g., credit by exam).

Withhold the awarding of the degree/certificate or diploma until the requirement has been satisfied.

Schedule an academic disciplinary hearing for possible suspension or dismissal.

For cases which involve a disciplinary hearing, the dean will involve the assessment and certification manager, test examiner/proctor and any witness. The recommendation of the hearing will follow due process as defined in District Board of Trustees Rule 6Hx7–2.18.

The Assessment Office will inform students of Florida State College’s Academic Dishonesty policy at each test administration.